Fifteen residents of the Belle Reve Senior Living Facility in Milford, Pike County, were hospitalized as law enforcement and other officials probe alleged medical neglect, state police at Blooming Grove said.
Pennsylvania State Police, Pike County detectives and the Pike County Area Agency on Aging launched the investigation Tuesday.
An anonymous tip led to on-site assessments at the facility, which resulted in 15 residents being transported to four regional hospitals — Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, New York; Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown, New York; Newton Medical Center in Newton, New Jersey; and Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono in East Stroudsburg — for further medical evaluation, authorities said.
Matthew Osterberg, chairman of the Pike County Board of Commissioners, praised county officials for following proper protocols.
“An anonymous complaint came into our aging office about some patients not being cared for properly,” he said. “Our aging office did what they were supposed to do, they sent down some caseworkers, including the woman in charge of abuse and investigating these types of situations.”
As officials from the aging office arrived, they knew other resources would be necessary, Osterberg noted.
“When they walked in there, they realized that there were some medical conditions with some of the patients that they could not evaluate, so they called in medical personnel,” he said. “The ambulance services said these people need to be transported. From there, it escalated with other agencies coming in — Department of Human Services — and they made all these decisions to move them.”
A coordinated multiagency response, including Pike County Department of Public Safety Emergency Management and various fire and EMS resources, were required to ensure that the 83 residents were evaluated in a timely and thorough manner, police said.
At this time, there are no known unmet needs, and the investigation remains ongoing, police said.
Anyone with information relevant to the investigation should contact the Pennsylvania State Police, Troop R, Blooming Grove station at 570-226-5718.
The facility features two floors of assisted living residents, and one floor which houses the memory care unit where the impacted tenants were living, Osterberg said.
“It’s a very sad situation is all I can say,” he said. “Many people have dealt with elderly family members who have been in these facilities, and we just hope they’re treated with care, and the best care they can get.”